annual report 2010 - national legal aid & defender association

Championing JustiCe: marChing toward 100 Years

2010 annual report

National Legal Aid & Defender Asso-

ciation (NLADA) is America’s oldest and

largest nonprofit association devoted to

excellence in the delivery of legal services

to those who cannot afford counsel. For

100 years, NLADA has pioneered access

to justice at the national, state and local

level through the creation of our public

defender system, development of na-

tionally applicable standards for legal

representation, groundbreaking legal

legislation and the creation of important

institutions such as the Legal Services

Corporation. NLADA serves as the col-

lective voice for our country’s civil legal

aid and public defender services.

Championing JustiCe: marChing toward 100 Years

C h a m p i o n i n g J u s t i C e : m a r C h i n g t o wa r d 1 0 0 Y e a r s

n at i o n a l l e g a l a i d & d e f e n d e r a s s o C i at i o n • 1

Message FroM the NLaDa PresiDeNt & Ceoi am pleased to present the 2010 National Legal aid & Defender association (NLaDa) annual report on behalf of NLaDa’s board of directors and staff. each year, the annual report emphasizes NLaDa’s accomplishments in making equal justice a reality for all americans.

in 2010, our organization was buzzing with excitement as we prepared for our historic centennial of advocating for justice in the civil legal aid and public defense systems. across the country, however, it was a challenging year. While the national recession dragged on, the economy remained sluggish. Children and families continued to struggle through high rates of unemployment, skyrocketing healthcare costs and a persistent housing crisis that im-pacted homeowners as well as tenants. With approximately 60 million people eligible for legal aid—and a continu-ing decline in needed resources to fix our indigent defense crisis—NLaDa and its members renewed our efforts to provide services that made critical differences and positive change in the lives of thousands in need.

NLaDa addressed the justice gap in the civil legal services community by advocating for increased funding for the Legal services Corporation. The appropriations committees of the house and senate approved $420 million in funding for FY 2010, sending a clear indication that eliminating the justice gap remained a priority for the admin-istration. Maintaining that funding level would prove difficult. NLaDa also continued working with our national partners to push for the removal of restrictions, believing that LsC-funded offices must be allowed to represent their clients without restraint and with access to the same tools and resources as the rest of the equal justice com-munity.

For the public defense community, we worked on a number of fronts to make Gideon a reality for all people. We raised awareness through a new social media channel called Gideon alerts, which highlight and provide insight on news events pertaining to the right to counsel. We also continued pushing for full funding of the John r. Justice Prosecutors and Defenders incentive act of 2008 to allow public defense systems to attract and retain excellent lawyers to work on behalf of the indigent-accused. NLaDa kept up the pressure to get states to embrace the aBa Ten Principles of a Public Defense Delivery System.

NLaDa was proud to present our 2010 exemplar award to rick Cotton, executive vice president and general counsel of NBC Universal to honor his many years of service as a champion for pro bono assistance, commitment to diversity and contributions to legal assistance for people unable to pay for a lawyer. We also were pleased to award the Kutak-Dodds prizes and a number of other well-known and well deserved awards, as well as the 2010 Beacon of Justice award to 34 law firms across the country in honor of their commitment to providing pro bono legal services in the area of immigration.

We spent much of 2010 gearing up for our centennial. Fourteen legal aid societies gathered in Pittsburgh in 1911 to discuss the idea of forming a national organization. a year later, those visionaries adopted bylaws and officially founded the organization that would become NLaDa. over the years, we have fought hard to achieve justice, and 2010 was no different than the previous 98 years.

The 2010 achievements in the pages that follow could not have been possible without the support of our partners —NLaDa members and donors. We thank you for your commitment to NLaDa’s mission. With your support we will continue to make measurable progress toward justice for all.

n at i o n a l l e g a l a i d & d e f e n d e r a s s o C i at i o n

2 • 2 0 1 0 n l a d a a n n u a l r e p o r t

CiViL LegaL serViCes

The NLADA Civil Department worked during 2010 with its governing bodies of volunteers, partic-

ularly the Civil Policy Group and its committees (the Resources Committee, the Restrictions and

Regulations Committee, the Recruitment and Retention Committee, and the Program Enhancement

Committee) to provide NLADA with a presence and voice in a number of arenas important to the

delivery of legal services. These included work with the American Bar Association (ABA) Standing

Committee on Legal Aid & Indigent Defense (SCLAID) and the Pro Bono and Public Service Commit-

tees, outreach to the new Legal Services Corporation (LSC) Board of Directors and staff, and to the

Justice Department’s Access to Justice Initiative, the Self Representation Network, the Race Equity

Advisory Council, and the technology community.

NLADA participated in numerous academic and political discussions around the use of outcome

measures and effectiveness of civil legal aid, and participated in a wide range of substantive advo-

cacy and training programs relating to the pursuit of justice for low-income people, including Equal

Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellowships and other legal fellowship programs. NLADA staff

wrote extensively on issues related to civil legal aid for a variety of blogs and publications, including

those produced by NLADA and other entities, and delivered a paper comparing legal aid in the

United States to a legislative proposal pending before the Russian Duma.

The following are highlights from 2010:

as it has done for the last several years, NLaDa worked in coalition with its partners, including CLasP, the Brennan Center for Justice, the aBa, the United auto Workers and the Leadership Confer-ence on Civil and human rights on strategy and ad-vocacy around increased funding for LsC. The Civil department staff also coordinated with the NLaDa vice president for strategic alliances on a 50-state grassroots effort to enhance congressional support for LsC funding. Those advocacy efforts resulted in a $30 million increase in funding for LsC for FY 2010 and the elimination of the attorneys’ fee restric-tion from the appropriation. efforts to preserve that funding for FY 2011 continued throughout 2010.

in response to the severe problem of student loan debt, NLaDa secured passage of the Civil Legal aid attorney Loan repayment assistance Program and successfully worked with Congress to provide fund-ing for the program in the amount of $5 million.

NLaDa worked with the Brennan Center on draft-ing testimony for a hearing before the house Judi-ciary subcommittee on Commercial and adminis-trative Law regarding LsC reauthorization. NLaDa continued to work with congressional staff in both the house and the senate on the equal access to Jus-tice act, including negotiations with the LsC office of inspector general around confidentiality of client data and related issues.

to help address the foreclosure crisis, NLaDa advo-cated successfully before the Department of housing and Urban Development (hUD) to ensure that legal aid programs would be eligible to receive stimulus funding under both the homelessness and the hous-ing counseling programs and to favorably resolve issues relating to confidentiality of client data un-der those programs. it also drafted and successfully advocated for the creation of a federal foreclosure representation program under the Dodd-Frank Wall street reform and Consumer Protection act.

NLaDa developed legal aid community policy posi-tions and worked with a variety of coalition partners on drafts of legislation to reauthorize the Violence against Women act and the older americans act.

Working with a consultant and volunteer working groups, NLaDa made significant progress on its Quality and Program enhancement agenda, includ-ing the development of a training and support paper, conceptualization and community vetting of a peer-to-peer evaluation project, conceptualization and preliminary development of a community engage-ment toolkit, and initial development of an outline for an outcomes measurement process.



Technical Assistance & Support

Working with our partner at CLasP, NLaDa provided representation and technical assistance to LsC grantees and other members of the legal services community regarding a wide variety of concerns, including com-pliance with LsC restrictions and requirements, regu-latory revisions, financial controls, grant assurances, questioned cost proceedings and numerous policy is-sues. NLaDa and CLasP succeeded in their efforts to secure the removal of the regulatory provision that had prohibited LsC grantees from seeking and collecting at-torneys’ fees. They also began work with LsC staff on the reallocation of LsC grant funds on the basis of cen-sus data.

to help address the devastating legal problems faced by survivors in the wake of major disasters including the gulf Coast oil spill, NLaDa continued its work with the aBa, LsC and Pro Bono Net around the National Disaster Legal aid Website, a clearinghouse for persons affected by disasters and the advocates helping them.

NLaDa began the process of revising its website, www.nlada.org, by updating content and making it more user friendly. NLaDa brought back advocacy Funding Fact$, its monthly digest of information around federal funding for legal services and other grant opportunities.

NLaDa also worked actively as part of a national effort to promote the concept of a defined right to counsel, or “civil Gideon,” in certain cases where compelling legal interests and basic human rights are at stake. NLaDa joined in an amicus brief for the supreme Court in the case of Turner v. Rogers, which sought a constitutional right to counsel in a civil contempt proceeding in a child support case where an indigent father had been incarcerated for a year for failure to pay child support payments that he could not afford to pay.



DeFeNDer LegaL serViCes

The following are highlights from 2010: Gideon Alerts/Social MediaNLaDa’s Justice standards evaluation and research initiative (Jseri), the research and reform compo-nent of Defender Legal services, launched the Gideon alerts network in February 2010 to educate DoJ and congressional staffers through social media. Gideon alerts are designed to get decision makers within and outside of government to grasp the depth and breadth of the indigent defense crisis. Launched in the weeks leading up to the Department of Justice (DoJ) indigent Defense symposium, Gideon alerts search the nation’s most important news stories of the day and give con-textualized information to help readers frame the issues presented. after the symposium, DoJ asked NLaDa to expand the service to people outside of government. The network has grown steadily and reached 1,000 readers within the first four months (and the number approaches 10,000 in mid 2011).

The nlada.net website launched on February 8, 2010. We have used the website as a springboard into social media. articles published on the NDLi Web pages are disseminated through NLaDa’s Facebook page and through twitter, expanding our reach beyond outdated listservs. social media also allows our membership and other readers to serve as a second level of dissemina-tion. We are beginning to quantitatively track our Web readership as well as redistribution on Facebook and twitter, using bit.ly links and google analytics.

Melissa Kupferberg ScholarshipThe Melissa Kupferberg scholarship was established to honor Melissa Kupferberg life’s work as a mitiga-tion specialist. a committee was formed to manage the scholarship: Lori James-townes; Betsy Bibens; Jim tibensky and Melissa’s parents. NasaMs is asking to increase its section dues by $5 to generate funds for the scholarship. The $5 will be considered a contribution, therefore optional for members.

Department of Justice SymposiumDefender Legal services was heavily involved in both the DoJ symposium (February 18-19, 2010) and the

american Council of Chief Defenders events surround-ing that event. This was staffed by the extensive efforts of richard goemann, then-director of Defender Legal services, and David Carroll, director Jseri. a debrief session was facilitated by Catherine Beane of Beane Consulting and ably staffed by Jon Mosher, NLaDa research associate. The aCCD Curriculum Workgroup has transitioned, by grant of the aCCD executive Com-mittee, to the aCCD DoJ symposium Follow up Com-mittee.

State Level Reform: Justice Standards Evaluation and Research Initiative (JSERI)

Idahoon January 27, 2010, Jseri publicly released the report titled The guarantee of Counsel: advocacy & Due Pro-cess in idaho’s trial Courts. The report found that the state of idaho fails to provide the level of representation our Constitution guarantees those who cannot afford counsel in its criminal and juvenile courts. idaho has sewn a patchwork quilt of underfunded, inconsistent systems that vary greatly in defining who qualifies for services and in the level of competency of the services rendered. While there are some admirable qualities of some of the county indigent defense services, NLaDa finds that none of the public defender systems in the sample counties are constitutionally adequate.

Louisianaon March 9, our report on Louisiana’s 15th Judi-cial District to the Louisiana Public Defender Board (LPDB) launched. We received comments and made corrections, delivering the final edition on april 27. Da-vid Carroll and Jon Mosher traveled to Baton rouge to formally present the report’s findings on June 23 and 24.

Marylandon May 4, 2010, Maryland gov. Martin o’Malley signed legislation increasing independence for the state public defender agency by expanding the Public Defender Board from three members, all appointed by the governor, to a 13-member board selected by di-verse authorities. No sitting judges, prosecutors or law enforcement employees may serve on the board. Fol-

Public defense lawyers work to ensure that justice is attainable by all, regardless of the ability to

pay for defense counsel. Without these attorneys and their hard work, the right to be represented

in the nation’s criminal courts would be the exclusive privilege of the wealthy. NLADA’s Defender

Legal Services team is honored to provide skills and leadership development, technical assistance,

skills training, advocacy, research and program evaluations. We are proud to support our nation’s

public defense leaders, trial and appellate lawyers for children and adults, sentencing advocates,

investigators and mitigation specialists.



lowing prevailing national standards, the new law re-quires that the chief public defender be appointed for a six-year term and can be terminated only for just cause. The legislation was passed on a near-unanimous, bipar-tisan basis (senate: 45-0; house: 137-4). Last year, the then-chief public defender was fired on a 2-1 vote by the board after she refused to increase the caseload of staff public defenders and did not follow the dictates of the board to disband the capital defense and juvenile pro-tection divisions, close a community defenders office and fire the only african-american deputy. Without taking a position on whether or not the chief public de-fender’s firing was justified, national advocates focused on the failure of the Maryland board to meet national standards and the perception that the firing was unduly political. David Carroll twice testified before a senate committee from which the final legislation was crafted, provided technical assistance to legislators and helped educate and guide local stakeholders (including the Maryland state Bar).

Mississippi and Georgiaon June 11, 2010, NLaDa completed its report “achiev-ing sustainable reform: Lessons from Mississippi and georgia Lay the Path to the Future.” This report was not publicly disseminated because it involved an evaluation and critique of indigent defense reform efforts in Mis-sissippi and georgia, of which NLaDa was not a part. The report was delivered to the open society institute, which commissioned it, to aid the philanthropy in con-sidering the best approaches and necessary resources for sustainable indigent defense reform.

Education and Networking

on February 8, 2010, NDLi launched its new web pages at www.nlada.org/ndli. The site contains three major sections:

• The Management & Leadership training Programs pages give access to all of NDLi’s educational resources, our training programs, materials, expert faculty and how you can tap NDLi’s expertise to provide the help you need for your jurisdiction.

• The technical assistance pages offer help when you want and need it, both remotely and onsite, to address specific leadership and management questions and needs.

• The information exchange pages are the place where the entire equal justice community can share and find resources and participate in the national neighborhood of groups, each of which has a private place to discuss, share information, and ask questions at their leisure about common interests and concerns.

Using these Web pages as a national communication tool, NDLi has provided timely information, resources, and tools to public defense leadership and providers on

a host of subjects. a sample includes: representing vet-erans, information for defense attorneys on evidence-based practices, language access for public defense clients, planning and executing a campaign, public de-fense training and a strategic planning primer.

in addition, NDLi has made available to defender lead-ership information about national and federal govern-ment resources and activities that affect issues and poli-cy. examples include: U.s. house Judiciary hearings on indigent defense and the right to counsel, material from the National symposium on indigent Defense, NiJ 2010 annual Conference material for public defenders, U.s. attorney general eric holder keynote speech at the DoJ National symposium on indigent Defense and the DoJ challenge to state chief justices to remedy access to justice deficiencies.

Research, Writing, and Advancing Policy

Academic partnership. in February 2010, NDLi delivered to osi the white pa-per “educating Lawyers for a New generation Where government Fulfills the Promise of Gideon”. This paper advocates for the nationwide education of future and existing public defense system professionals, fully pre-pared to undertake the governmental function of pro-viding constitutionally required legal representation. it sets out a plan for the NDLi to partner with law schools to develop and provide management and leadership for public defense system curricula, through: (a) a perma-nent three-week summer Defender Leadership College; (b) graduate level elective courses in Public Defense Leadership and Management; and (c) graduate level de-grees in Public Defense Leadership and Management.

Improving Efforts to Aid States in Comply-ing with the ABA Ten Principles. in June 2010, NDLi delivered to osi its paper “achiev-ing sustainable reform: Lessons from Mississippi and georgia Lay the Path to the Future.” The research and writing of this paper was funded by osi, for the pur-pose of looking at past efforts to bring about indigent defense reform and learn from them.

additionally, the expertise of the american Council of Chief Defenders and the National alliance of sentenc-ing advocates & Mitigation specialists, in leadership and trial representation imperatives have significantly changed the expectations and raised the bar in the indi-gent defense practice. Finally, the trainers section has provided training and train the trainer presentations that have set the tempo for a community seeking to im-prove.



traiNiNg aND CoMMUNitY eDUCatioN

Training for Both Civil Legal Aidand Public Defense

NLADA Annual Conferenceatlanta, georgia played host to the 2010 NLaDa an-nual Conference, “Delivering on the Dream: March-ing toward 100 Years of Justice.” every year the an-nual conference serves as the culmination of NLaDa’s training agenda for the equal justice community. The November 10-13, 2010 conference also brought to a close the first century of NLaDa’s existence and gave its more than 700 attendees a wide array of forums rich in opportunities to acquire new knowledge, skills, and information, try out new and innovative ideas, share “best practices,” expand professional networks and make new friends.

against a backdrop of natural and man-made disasters and the devastating financial and housing crises that have taken their toll on the community we serve, al-ready struggling to keep poverty and homelessness at bay, civil, public defense and client advocates assem-bled in atlanta to take advantage of the rich opportu-nities provided by such a gathering of their dedicated colleagues, peers, and the leaders of the community to learn from one another and to celebrate their extraordi-nary contributions to the cause of equal justice.

as in the past, this year’s annual conference was filled with spirited and provocative discussions and innova-tive workshops designed to meet the challenges of a difficult environment. Chief Justice Leah Ward sears, recently retired Chief Justice of the georgia supreme Court, gave an impassioned keynote address to the conference attendees at the opening plenary.

Following conclusion of a highly successful annual con-ference, NLaDa began planning for the Centennial Conference in December 2011.

Training for Civil Legal Aid

2010 Equal Justice ConferenceThe NLaDa Civil Department worked in concert with the american Bar association in planning the 2010 equal Justice Conference, which was scheduled to be held in Phoenix, arizona in mid-May, only weeks af-ter the enactment of arizona’s landmark anti-immi-grant legislation, which drew criticism from President obama, the Mexican Foreign Ministry, and political and religious leaders from across the United states. in the immediate aftermath of the enactment of the legis-lation, NLaDa was faced with the prospect of co-spon-soring a major conference in a jurisdiction that had just taken a step that was viewed by many in our community as not only anti-immigrant and anti-hispanic, but also a major assault on civil rights in general. Quickly real-izing that it was too late to consider moving the confer-ence to another location, the NLaDa staff and board, in consultation with the aBa, engaged in an intense discussion of the options, and the board concluded that the only principled course of action was for NLaDa to withdraw from sponsorship of the conference. after substantial consideration of the issues involved, the aBa decided to go ahead with sponsorship of the con-ference on its own.

Later in the year, NLaDa and the aBa began planning for the 2011 equal Justice Conference, which was held in Las Vegas, Nevada in May 2011.

Substantive Law/Litigation and Advocacy Directors/Client Leadership Conferencein 2010, NLaDa held the first-ever integrated substan-tive Law and Litigation & advocacy Directors Con-ference, along with the Client Leadership Conference which was held at the same time, July 21-24. This was the equal justice community’s largest gathering, out-side of the NLaDa annual Conference, of legal aid advocates, including new lawyers, experienced manag-

NLADA’s nationally acclaimed educational training programs and conferences bring together

thousands of civil legal aid and indigent defense professionals each year. Our training agenda

promotes excellence in the provision of legal services to low-income individuals and communities in

America. NLADA events provide attorneys, paralegals, social workers, community advocates and

clients the opportunity to network and exchange ideas with colleagues from across the country while

fulfilling Continuing Legal Education (CLE) requirements.



ers, and clients, with more than 300 participants from across the country assembling in the Windy City for an exciting program of sessions dealing with the panoply of substantive issues affecting the low-income client community as well as a range of sessions addressing the variety of management and delivery issues that face those who direct legal advocacy in legal aid programs. NLaDa had decided to integrate the substantive Law Conference and the Litigation and advocacy Directors Conference, which had previously been held in alter-nating years, into one large conference, to give several generations of legal aid advocates the opportunity to share their experiences, network, and learn together.

Planning for Health Law TrainingNLaDa’s Civil Division staff conceptualized and began planning for a health Law reform Conference to be held in July of 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland, in partner-ship with the National health Law Project.

Training for Public Defense

The american Council of Chief Defenders (aCCD) regularly secures management and leadership training for its own membership during its in-person meetings and also provides such training to public defense lead-ership throughout the country. The National Defender Leadership institute (NLDi) provides resources, tech-nical assistance, faculty suggestions, assistance with lo-gistical planning and more to assist these organizations with public defense management and leadership needs. in this capacity, NDLi serves more as a consultant and coordinator of resources and networking, shifting away from its previous role as the sole provider of this type of training.

Case Management Systems Workshop The most significant program presented by NDLi dur-ing 2010 was the case management systems workshop “Developing & implementing Case Management sys-tems for Public Defenders and Beyond,” held october 22-23, 2010 in arlington, Virginia. The need for this program originated out of a request by the Youth ad-vocacy Department of Massachusetts’ Committee for Public Counsel services. YaD had received a grant

from the robert Wood Johnson Foundation to develop a juvenile case management system, and part of that grant required YaD to find ways to share its system at no cost with other public defense providers. NDLi, YaD, and the National Juvenile Defender Center brought together case management systems teams from 12 jurisdictions around the country that are all actively engaged in developing and implementing case man-agement systems for adult and juvenile public defense systems. The jurisdictions provide adult trial level, ju-venile and appellate defense services through a variety of delivery methods (fulltime public defender offices, assigned counsel systems, contract systems) at the state and county levels. in preparing for the workshop, we conducted a national survey of public defense sys-tems throughout the country about their current case management systems as well as their plans and needs. This workshop was intended to be the first of many steps needed to develop and implement a uniform, in-tegrated, national database of verifiable, accurate, and objective data about public defense services and their delivery in our country.

National Leadership Training on september 24-26, 2010, NDLi, in conjunction with the NLaDa Community education and Profes-sional Development department, presented “2010 Nuts & Bolts of Leadership & Management,” in Cincinnati, ohio. The program on basic skills in public defense leadership and management was taught by present and former chief defenders and attended by 38 entry- and mid-level supervisors and managers from 13 jurisdic-tions.



Jurisdictional Training and Technical AssistanceNDLi staff members frequently serve as faculty for pub-lic defense system training programs throughout the country. During 2010, NDLi:

• Presented at the Missouri Law review symposium “Broke and Broken: Can We Fix our state indigent Defense systems?” held February 26, 2010 in Columbia, Missouri, on the ethical duties of public defenders. a related law review article was written by Phyllis e. Mann, ethical obligations of indigent Defense attorneys to Their Clients, 75 Mo.L.rev. 715.

• served as faculty at the Louisiana Public Defender Board (LPDB) “Public Defender skills training, Part ii,” held april 10, 2010 in Baton rouge, Louisiana. Ms. Mann served as faculty for small-group skills training workshops and presented a plenary session on evidence. This program served to assist the LPDB in developing its annual new attorney training.

• served as faculty at the Louisiana Public Defender Board Defender training institute 2010, held september 12-18, 2010 in Baton rouge, Louisiana. The weeklong attorney training program was part of implementing Louisiana’s new statewide public defense system. Ms. Mann served as lead trainer throughout the week and presented a plenary session on “Brady, Kyles issues” relating to evidence.

• Presented at the texas task Force on indigent Defense 8th annual indigent Defense Workshop, held october 28-29, 2010, in austin, texas, on the topic of “avoiding Class action Litigation for systemic Deficiencies.” This annual workshop brings together criminal justice system teams —judges, prosecutors, defenders and administrators — from counties across texas.

NDLi develops local management and leadership train-ing programs and resources in response to requests from the field. During 2010, NDLi provided the follow-ing assistance:• Maryland office of the Public Defender (MoPD).

When the MoPD underwent significant changes in leadership during late 2009 and 2010, NDLi worked with the state as a new chief public defender assumed leadership and many executive level positions were filled. NDLi helped the state office determine the types of training that would result in the most effective representation to indigent defendants, responsible stewardship of taxpayer resources, and collaborative decentralization to encourage creativity, enthusiasm and success throughout the system. MoPD sought grant funding to implement these training ideas. NDLi will continue to work with MoPD.

• Washington Defender association (WDa). The single organization that brings together the leadership of Washington’s county-administered systems is the WDa. NDLi worked with WDa throughout 2010 in developing a curriculum for management and leadership training. Defender Legal services (DLs) Vice President ed Burnette then served as faculty at the WDa program held in the spring of 2011. NDLi will continue to assist WDa in this ongoing training.



NLaDa MeMBershiP

In 1911, Arthur von Briesen, chief counsel of the New York legal Aid Society, closed the first formal

gathering in Pittsburgh, PA of 14 legal aid societies — who would later become the founding

members of the National Legal Aid & Defender Association, with a vision of how legal aid would

become part of the legal mainstream in America. Today his vision lives on through NLADA and

its more than 700 program members and 1,500 individuals who advocate for civil legal aid and

indigent defense in America.

Program members of NLaDa include legal aid organi-zations, public defender offices, social service organiza-tions, pro bono programs, bar associations and foun-dations, law school clinics, assigned counsel programs, corporate legal departments, and law firms. There are four broad types of program members: civil legal aid programs, public defender programs, associate pro-grams and corporate associate members. NLaDa has more than 700 program members representing more than 14,000 attorneys in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, american samoa, guam, Puerto rico, and the U.s. Virgin islands.

NLaDa members work tirelessly to provide counsel to those who are unable to afford legal representation in criminal and civil matters and work to bring change to this country’s broken justice system. in 2010, we re-flected on our accomplishments and began the process of planning the next 100 years of equal justice.

on the civil side, conservatively more than 50 percent of persons eligible for civil legal assistance are denied access because of severely limited resources, leading to wrongful evictions, domestic abuse and homelessness. today, a record number of americans receive little or no representation in criminal proceedings, leading to wrongful convictions and over incarceration due to un-derfunded public defense systems.

NLaDa is the oldest and largest, national nonprofit or-ganization and the nation’s leading advocate for front-line attorneys and other equal justice professionals.

NLADA Program Memberships

NLADA Individual Memberships

individual members of NLaDa include more than 1,500 civil legal aid advocates and public defense pro-fessionals, sentencing advocates, mitigation specialists, bar association leaders and staff, private practice attor-neys, corporate counsel, judges, law school clinicians, clients, students, clinical fellows and private citizens who support NLaDa ’s mission. NLaDa members stay connected throughout the year through member-driv-en special interest sections and affinity groups. NLaDa sections are comprised of members with common pro-fessional interests who come together to network, share information and work toward common goals.

Current sections include:

• american Council of Chief Defenders (aCCD)• advocacy & support• appellate Defender• Client advocate• Death Penalty Litigation• Defender trainers• Farmworker Law• Latino advocates• National alliance of indigent Defense educators

(NaiDe) • National alliance of sentencing advocates &

Mitigation specialists (NasaMs)• Native american• student Legal services• technology

NLaDa provides a wide range of services, including training and professional development, peer network-ing, technical assistance, publications, online resources, and national advocacy to support excellence in the de-livery of civil legal aid and indigent defense services.

Associate Program 27%

Defender Program Members 13%

Chief Defender Program Members 3%

Civil Program Members 57%

Individual Attorney 54%

Sustaining 7%

Client Advocate 12%

Life Members 2%

Ind. Attorney/NASAMS 23%

Student 2%



eQUaL JUstiCe heroes

N LADA recognizes the personal and professional sacrifices that come with doing what is right

for society as a whole. It is important to pause, reflect and take inspiration from those who are

championing justice today and marching toward the next 100 years to fulfill the promise of Equal

Justice for All. During 2010, our equal justice heroes were honored during the Exemplar Award

Dinner on October 6 at the JW Marriott Hotel in Washington, DC and the 2010 NLADA Annual

Conference on November 12 at the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel in Atlanta, GA.



“America is indeed fortunate to have women and men who are passionately committed to doing battle

to redress injustice, to work for the common good, and to provide voice for people who lack the means

to vindicate their rights through conventional political or legal channels. The National Legal Aid &

Defender Association is composed of such lawyers. For almost 100 years, it has worked tirelessly to

strengthen and improve legal aid and defender programs as well as the private bar pro bono, to assure

that the right to counsel is a fact of life for every person in America. I am, therefore, especially honored

to be the first recipient of this award.”

— Justice John Paul Stevens

in honor of a lifetime of service as a champion of jus-tice, NLaDa was pleased to present the 2010 NLaDa Justice John Paul stevens award to John Paul stevens, associate Justice of the supreme Court of the United states. Justice stevens left the supreme Court with a legacy of uncompromising dedication to the rule of law. he is widely known for understanding how the law im-pacts the everyday life of the american people.

Justice stevens received his J.D. from Northwestern University school of Law and began his legal career in 1947 by serving as a clerk to supreme Court Justice Wi-ley rutledge. Following his clerkship, stevens returned to Chicago and joined the law firm of Poppenhusen, Johnston, Thompson & raymond, which later became the firm of Jenner & Block. he was admitted to the bar and returned to Washington, D.C. to serve as associate counsel to the subcommittee on the study of Monopoly Power of the Judiciary Committee of the U.s. house of representatives.

in 1969, the greenberg Commission, appointed by the illinois supreme Court, named Justice stevens as their counsel during the investigation of corruption by two illinois supreme Court Chief Justices. stevens’ role on the Commission gained him wide notoriety leading him to the appointment of Judge of the U.s. Court of appeals for the seventh Circuit in 1970. on December 19, 1975, President gerald Ford nominated stevens as an associate Justice of the supreme Court. he was con-firmed 98-0 by the senate.

on June 29, 2010, after more than 34 years, Justice ste-vens retired as the third-longest serving justice in the Court’s history. Throughout his nearly 35 years on the bench, Justice stevens maintained a moderate voice that championed civil rights issues, death penalty issues and the treatment of detainees at guantanamo Bay.

JohN PaUL steVeNsJUstiCe JohN PaUL steVeNs LiFetiMe aChieVeMeNt hoNoree

stevens’ opinion for the Court in Atkins v. Virginia (2002), which reversed a 13-year precedent to outlaw the execution of mentally retarded citizens, is largely thought to have set the stage for the eventual abolition of the juvenile death penalty. stevens’ views on affirma-tive action and integration in schools evolved during his tenure, declaring in 2007 that “children of all races benefit from integrated classrooms and playgrounds.”

in a key, landmark decision involving national secu-rity, stevens crossed the liberal-conservative divide by writing two of the most important decisions, Rasul v. Bush (2004) and Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2006). The deci-sions stressed the Court’s duty to ensure fair treatment for those viewed most unfavorably in our society, even when national security is at issue. in Rasul v. Bush, Jus-tice stevens wrote the majority opinion, arguing that detainees from the war-on-terror were indeed entitled to habeas corpus and could challenge their incarcera-tion before american courts. Rasul marked the first time a sitting president had ever lost a major civil liber-ties case in the supreme Court at a time of war. he went on to say “[i]f this Nation is to remain true to the ideals symbolized by its flag, it must not wield the tools of ty-rants even to resist an assault by the forces of tyranny.”

For a lifetime of dedication to justice for all americans, NLaDa is proud to have honored Justice John Paul stevens.



“It’s an honor to have been chosen for this year’s award. I accept this award as a way to spot light the pro

bono activities of the broader NBC Universal legal team,” commented Mr. Cotton. “I am enormously

proud of the activist approach that NBC Universal lawyers have adopted to pro bono work, and of their

collective contributions to the public interest. I have long believed that contributing to the public good

should be an important component of a lawyer’s career and professional activities.”

— Rick Cotton

to honor his many years of service as a champion for access to justice and contributions to legal assistance for people unable to pay for a lawyer, NLaDa was pleased to present the 2010 exemplar award to rick Cotton, executive vice president and general counsel of NBC Universal (NBCU).

rick Cotton was named to his current position in au-gust 2004. he supervises the NBC Universal Law De-partment, which provides legal advice to all NBC Uni-versal business units for their ongoing operations and for new strategic plans and acquisitions. in addition, he oversees NBC Universal’s global regulatory and legisla-tive agenda, including the company’s worldwide anti-piracy efforts.

Under Cotton’s leadership, the NBC Universal Legal Department embraced a goal of having 50 percent of its lawyers participate in pro bono projects, and its recent public-oriented activities focus on a wide range of orga-nizations, including Dress for success, street Law and alliance for Children’s rights.

in 2010 the NBCU West Coast legal team won the Los angeles County Bar Corporate Law Department Pro Bono award, and in December 2008 a member of the company’s West Coast team accepted the ge Pro Bono award, which is given annually to a single lawyer in the worldwide ge legal organization in recognition of out-standing pro bono work.

rick Cotton served as law clerk to Judge J. skelly Wright of the U.s. Court of appeals for the District of Colum-bia Circuit from 1969 to 1970 and to Justice William J. Brennan Jr. of the supreme Court of the United states from 1970 to 1971.

in the 1970s, Cotton served as special counsel and man-aging attorney for the Concord office of New hamp-shire Legal assistance, where he secured representation for individuals without the means to pay for a lawyer.

From 1974 to 1976, he was a staff attorney for the Natu-ral resources Defense Council in Palo alto, California and from 1977 to 1981, Cotton worked in the Depart-ment of health education and Welfare. he was appoint-ed deputy executive secretary under secretary Joseph a. Califano and was named the executive secretary in 1978. in 1980 he became the special counsel to Deputy secretary John sawhill of the U.s. Department of en-ergy.

in the mid 1980s, while in private practice, he suc-cessfully litigated a major pro bono case in defense of funding for national support centers, which served as a resource to attorneys representing at-risk and un-derserved clients, including older americans, Native americans, immigrants and migrant workers. in the 1990s, Cotton spent eight years as the chair of the board of the Primary Care Development Corporation, which provides financing and expert support for health cen-ters in underserved communities in New York. he cur-rently serves as the chair of the Dean’s Council at the NYU school of Public service.

For his commitment to access to justice, NLaDa is pleased to have honored rick Cotton with the 2010 ex-emplar award

riCK CottoN2010 exeMPLar aWarD hoNoree



KUtaK-DoDDs Prize WiNNersNLADA salutes the achievements of Alan Alop and McGregor Smyth

aLaN aLoPKUtaK-DoDDs Prize — CiViL

alan alop, deputy director for intake offices, Legal assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago in Chicago, iL. alop has made advocating for and representing low-income people his life’s work. he began his career litigat-ing statewide welfare class actions in Florida. shortly thereafter, he began to specialize in consumer law cases that targeted low-income families. Most recently, with healthcare in a state of both crisis and reform, alop went to work assisting uninsured indigent patients who were being charged double or triple what insured patients were charged. alop collaborated with labor unions and media to highlight the injustice. taking what he learned from his work, he developed a nearly 300-page primer for legal aid attorneys with clients facing the same daunting challenges. alop continues to intervene on behalf of victims of consumer fraud and abusive collection tactics.

“alan is a consummate collaborator, always willing to share his expertise and never looking to be in the limelight. sometimes, however, the limelight finds him … in short, alan is a quiet, honest, steadfast, good humored hero of the legal services movement,” stated nominator Diana C. White, executive director of the Legal assistance Founda-tion of Metropolitan Chicago. “his 39-year long career deserves our highest recognition and thanks.”

MCgregor sMYthKUtaK-DoDDs Prize — DeFeNDer

J. Mcgregor smyth first joined The Bronx Defenders in 2000 as a skadden Fellow. as part of his fellowship, smyth brought to The Bronx Defenders a project designed to address the collateral consequences clients endure as the result of an arrest. The combination of his skills and expertise as a civil attorney with those of his criminal defense colleagues soon proved to be a winning combination, allowing for the successful reentry of people coming from the criminal justice system into Bronx communities. such holistic representation helped to address the gap in legal services that people need to cope with the aftermath of criminal proceedings and helped to mitigate the damaging collateral consequences families endure when a loved one becomes entangled in the criminal justice system. smyth has also dedicated his career to working on behalf of people who find themselves the victims of unjust evictions and wrongful arrests. he has worked tirelessly to protect the rights of the marginalized and to secure critical settlements on behalf of his clients.

“Mcgregor’s compassion and dedication to our clients is irrefutable, and his commitment to enhancing the legal services available to low-income communities is steadfast. he fluidly transitions from working on the theoretical aspects of his practice to listening and talking to individual clients,” stated nominator robin g. steinberg, executive director of The Bronx Defenders. “Whether he is working to prevent the eviction of a whole family from public housing, crafting and executing a pitch to a skeptical funder, or fighting for the civil rights of thousands in a class action, Mcgregor works tirelessly to prevent injustice.”



2010 BeaCoN oF JUstiCe aWarDas people in the United states continued to feel the effects of a severe economic crisis, both U.s. citizens and non-U.s. citizens have found themselves the targets of controversial state-based laws that give police the power to detain and question people they suspect of being in the country illegally.

an equally large number of people abroad who find themselves persecuted for one reason or another strug-gle to define a path toward citizenship and/or a legal presence in this country. For a significant number of these people, access to a lawyer to help them or their loved ones is out of reach and the road to assistance of counsel is fraught with delays, financial hurdles, dis-crimination and confusion.

to balance the scales of justice, 34 law firms from across the country have set the bar high with their com-mitment to pro bono work to ensure that vulnerable people caught in the web of complex immigration laws, policies and detention, are treated fairly and humanely and that their course to a legal presence in the United states is just. These firms are leaders in the creation of innovative models that attack systemic injustices on

myriad fronts. The broad range of pro bono cases taken on by these firms include but are not limited to: asylum ap-plications; appeals assisting immigrant victims of domestic abuse; victims of sex trafficking; the treatment of people with mental disabilities in the immigration court and detention system; religious and political persecution cases; juvenile immigrant cases; advocacy for immigration rights of detainees and children; and support for the recogni-tion of immigration rights for same-sex couples.

in honor of their extraordinary commitment top providing pro bono legal representation in the area of immigra-tion law, the National Legal aid & Defender association (NLaDa) was pleased to award the 2010 Beacon of Justice award to 34 law firms across the country.

akin gump strauss hauer & Feld LLParnold & PorterCozen o’ConnorCrowell & Moring LLPDickstein shapiro Dorsey & WhitneyDykema gossett, PLLCFosterQuan, LLPFragomen, Del rey, Bernsen & Loewy LLPFredrikson & Byron, P.a.gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP goldman & goldman, P.C. goodwin Procter holland & Knight hughes hubbard & reed LLP hunton & Williams Jenner & Block King & spalding Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLPLatham & Watkins

Law office of Marisa DeFranco Law offices of richard toscanoLeonard, street and Deinard Morrison & Foerster LLPParker, Butte and Lane Law Firm Parrilli renison Perkins Coie LLP Quarles & Brady reed smith robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P.steptoe & Johnson The sparks Law Corporation troutman sanders Williams, Kastner & gibbs PLLC



JoseFiNa PaNtoJa-oQUeNDoregiNaLD heBer sMith aWarD

The 2010 reginald heber smith award recipient was Josefina Pantoja-oquendo, attorney-coordinator of the spe-cial education project at Puerto rico Legal services in san Juan, Puerto rico. The reginald heber smith award recognizes the dedicated service and outstanding achievements of a civil legal aid attorney or indigent defense at-torney while employed by an organization supporting such services. The “reggie” is named for a legendary counsel at the Boston Legal aid society and the author of Justice and the Poor, published by the Carnegie Foundation in 1919.

For 30 years, Josefina Pantoja-oquendo has served as a staff attorney for Puerto rico Legal services, dedicating almost all of her years of practice to serving indigent people and communities. active in a variety of groups that advocate for human rights, she has dedicated herself to training parents of children with disabilities as advocates for their children.

Pantoja-oquendo’s legal achievements began in 1974 as an attorney with the Consumer affairs Department of the Commonwealth of Puerto rico. she joined Puerto rico Legal services, inc. (PrLs) in 1977, beginning her journey with the Carolina Direct service office, transferring shortly thereafter to the environmental rights Divi-sion and then the support Center. Pantoja-oquendo was a member of the legal team that represented plaintiffs in a class action (Rosa Lydia Velez v. Department of Education) seeking implementation of the education for the handicapped act on behalf of indigent education students, pushing the effort to bring the Puerto rico Department of education into compliance with its legal and moral obligation to provide adequate special education services for this population.

Pantoja-oquendo’s dedication to a number of causes has been recognized by a variety of groups, including that Puerto rican Defense and education Fund in NY; the Puerto rican Bar association’s Women Commission and by the Women’s advocate office.

YVette LoNg MarY eLLeN haMiLtoN aWarD

The 2010 Mary ellen hamilton award recipient was Yvette Long, client board member of Pennsylvania Legal aid Network, inc. The Mary ellen hamilton award honors a client who, on a compensated or volunteer basis, has provided extraordinary service or support to the delivery of legal services to the poor. The award honors one of the founders of the National Clients Council and the alliance for Legal rights. Mary ellen hamilton served on NLaDa’s Board of Directors and remained an active member of the alliance until her death in 1985.

Long has been on the board of Pennsylvania Legal aid Network, inc. (PLaN) for more than 14 years, involved in the important decisions of allocating funding from year to year and setting priorities for activities from year to year. she served as president-elect from 2004 to 2006 and then as president from March 2006 to March 2008, followed by her role as president emeritus for the next two years. in these capacities, Long gained the trust and support of the board as a whole, keeping cohesiveness among the attorneys and clients who make up the board.

in addition to Long’s service at PLaN, she is very active in advocating for client interests by advising and advocat-ing with Pennsylvania’s Department of Public Welfare. she was named chair of the income Maintenance advisory Committee and the chair of its subgroup, the employment and training advisory Committee. as a leader of this

2010 NLaDa aWarDs

The National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) honored five equal justice heroes and

a county-based newspaper from Rochester, NY at the NLADA 2010 Annual Conference in At-

lanta, GA for five of our prestigious honors: the Reginald Heber Smith Award, the Emery A. Brownell

Award, Mary Ellen Hamilton Award, Denison Ray Award and the Arthur von Briesen Award.



JereMY LaNe DeNisoN raY aWarD

The 2010 Denison ray award went to Jeremy Lane, executive director of Mid-Minnesota Legal assistance. The “Denny” award honors persons who have provided at least five years of service to the legal services community in staff, client or volunteer capacities. Dennison ray, who dedicated his professional life to equal justice for the poor, is the former director of the Legal aid society of Northeastern New York, Legal services of North Carolina and other programs.

For 40 years, Lane has been an extraordinary advocate for access to justice for the poor. trading in a lucrative practice in Manhattan for a legal aid office in Queens, NY, Lane found a calling and a commitment to the needs of disadvantaged clients and legal services providers who serve them. as executive director of Mid-Minnesota Legal assistance (MMLa), Lane is responsible for 10 offices, approximately 72 attorneys, poverty law in 21 counties, disability law statewide, and various projects for disadvantaged persons. Under his leadership and with significant collaboration from colleagues across the state and nationwide, Lane developed special projects and programs that supported and expanded benefits for disabled persons, juveniles, Native americans, seniors, immigrants, refugees, and other special needs programs.

as an outgrowth of litigation involving Minnesota state hospitals and the case Welsch v. Likins, in particular, MMLa received federal, state and local funds to establish what became the Disability Law Project – a statewide program that provides legal assistance to persons with developmental disabilities and to individuals facing mental illness. The program became a model for other states, with advocates from MMLa providing guidance on the development of similar programs in other states.

in addition to tireless advocacy, Lane has inspired an entire community to form a seamless system of legal aid pro-viders who jointly share resources, time and talent to serve the poor.

the DaiLY reCorDthe 2010 eMerY BroWNeLL aWarD

The 2010 emery Brownell award was awarded to The Daily Record, a newspaper that covers the mid-sized city of rochester in western New York. The emery a. Brownell Media award recognizes newspapers, films, radio and television stations that have informed the public of the crucial role played by civil or defender organizations in ensuring equal justice for poor people. This award commemorates emery Brownell, who began his legal career with the Legal aid society of rochester, N.Y. in 1925 and served as NLaDa’s executive director from 1940 to 1961. in a fitting tribute, this year’s emery Brownell award recognizes the huge impact that The Daily Record from roch-ester, NY, has had on the community’s awareness of the need to ensure equal justice for those who cannot afford it. The Daily Record distinguished itself with its ongoing in-depth and enlightened coverage of the crucial role played by civil legal aid and/or defender organizations in ensuring access to justice for the most vulnerable members of our community. its work includes reports on legislation to create an office of indigent Legal services in New York, a series chronicling efforts to provide stable funding for civil legal services, co-sponsored with the greater roch-ester association for Women attorneys a panel discussion featuring ordinary Justice author amy Bach, articles featuring attorney emeritus status for attorneys age 55 and over who volunteer pro bono and a monthly column that spotlights pro bono work in western New York.

The Daily Record regularly reports in detail on the importance of the constitutional right to counsel in criminal proceedings, and its work focused the community’s attention on the legislation that created the statewide office of indigent Legal services and the vitally important work the office would undertake.

advisory process, Long has affected state policies having a major impact on residents across the state in the areas of cash assistance, food stamps, Medicaid, subsidized child care, and other public benefits areas critical to low-income families. Long’s leadership helped to create a statewide employment project, allowing legal aid attorneys and para-legals to represent clients in removing barriers to employment.



Chris MesserLY aND PhiLiP sieFF oF the LaW FirM roBiNs, KaPLaN, MiLLer & Ciresi, LLPthe arthUr VoN BrieseN aWarD

The 2010 arthur von Briesen award goes to attorneys Chris Messerly and Philip sieff of the law firm robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, LLP. The author von Briesen award honors attorneys not employed by a legal services or defender program who have made substantial volunteer contributions in support of the delivery of legal services and/or indigent defense representation. The award celebrates the achievements of the first president of NLaDa.

The august 1, 2007 collapse of the i-35W bridge in downtown Minneapolis forever changed the lives of Minneso-tans but the direct impact fell upon the families of the 13 killed and the over 140 injured. This catastrophe united a group of law firms across the state, including robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. immediately following the bridge collapse, two firm partners – Chris Messerly and Philip sieff –determined that their firm should do whatever they could to help the bridge victims, and that they should do this for free. Messerly and sieff eventually secured a $40 million settlement in august 2010 on behalf of the bridge accident victims and their families.

With the support of the firm, Messerly and sieff recruited a group of 17 other law firms of all sizes that agreed to provide free services to bridge accident clients. Messerly and sieff spearheaded the “Pro Bono Consortium” of law firms, and arranged for robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi to pay for all expenses relating to any of the consortium’s and the firm’s bridge accident clients. of the more than 150 victims who were on the bridge, the consortium repre-sented 117 victims, of which the firm represented 24.

in all, more than 130 attorneys and staff at robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi contributed more than 20,000 hours pro bono over the past three years, making this the most significant pro bono contribution in the firm’s history. The financial contribution by the firm is also substantial – more than $1.1 million in out-of-pocket costs and more than $1.3 million in total attorneys’ time.

DorothY aLtherPierCe-hiCKersoN aWarD

The National association of indian Legal services takes great pleasure in announcing that Dorothy alther was awarded the 2010 Pierce-hickerson award. The Pierce-hickerson award honors outstanding contributions to the advancement or preservation of Native american rights. Created in 2003, it pays homage to the legacies of Julian Pierce and robert hickerson for their outstanding advocacy in pursuit of justice for Native americans.

Dorothy alther has spent her career working for indian legal services programs and advocating on behalf of in-dividual Native americans as well as tribes and tribal entities. starting off as a staff attorney and later managing attorney of DNa Legal services, alther oversaw a staff including several attorneys while handling a large case load involving probate and trust land matters, healthcare resources and obtaining public benefits for her clients. Upon moving to Washington in the early 1990s, alther worked for the suquamish tribe state for several years as a court administrator, advocate, and litigator on public resources protection and indian Child Welfare act cases.

Making a permanent move to California indian Legal services (CiLs) in 1993, alther first expanded her work to representing tribes in Bishop office’s service territory, and later to southern California in sovereign immunity cases, fee to trust applications, lease drafting, obtaining federal recognition for tribes and the creation of tribal law enforcement bodies.

With the passage of the timbisha shoshone homeland act of 2000, alther helped the timbisha shoshone tribe secure a land base of 7,000 acres. Despite relocating to the escondido office in 2003, alther continues to be the di-recting attorney for the Bishop office and regularly gets requests for assistance from former clients and old friends from the Bishop Washoe and timbisha shoshone tribes.

alther has been instrumental in training tribes in tribal court and law enforcement development. she has drafted a number of tribal constitutions and codes pertaining to peace, security and housing and represents her clients before the court. alther’s work in court development also inspired CiLs’ annual tribal Courts Conference which offers a venue for California’s tribal communities, tribal court judges and law enforcement officers to discuss current issues related to tribal justice while being updated on the law.



iNDiViDUaL giViNg

alex gulottaalex scherrallison P. Thompsonandrea L. Bridgemanandrew D. hendryangela Moorearthur Lindenauerarturo CorsoBarbara arnwineBernard MetzgarBeverley Bacchus-LewisBlair BrownBrenda hardingBrownlow speerCarlos FuentesCarlyle hooffCarol LeeCarolyn zander alfordCatherine C. CarrCharles greenfieldChilton D. VarnerChristopher MeadeChuck greenfieldClaudia C. BonnymanClay howellCorinne BeckwithDan KesselbrennerDavid DebruinDavid reiserDavid seideDeborah DuboisDeierdre WeirDennis groenenboomDonald M. saundersDonald P. henselDouglas FoxDwayne Biltonedward William Bates iieleanor h. smithellen g. harrisonelliott andalmangary slaiman gary Windomgeorge J. zweibelgeorge rutherglenglenda Y. hicksgordon Netzorgh. richard schumacherharrison Mciver iiihenry a. Freedmanirene C. MoralesJack BalagiaJames a. Pardo, Jr.James e. savageJames h. Lokey, Jr.James PetersonJean gulotta

Jennifer VitryJo-ann WallaceJohn B. arangoJohn ConstanceJohn g. BrooksJohn J. Curtin, Jr.John L. KefferJohn PorterJohn rellickJohn rosenbergJohn trujilloJonathan Blake Jonathan D. asherJonathan M. WolfJonathan smithJose PadillaJoseph appelbaumJudith Bernstein-BakerJulia YoungmanJulie ClarkKai MoyKaren LashKaren t. grisezKatherine shawKathleen r. hartnettKelly N. reevesKevin PeterL. Joseph Loveland, Jr.L. travis Brannon, Jr.Laurence a. BennerLillian JohnsonLillian MoyLinda e. PerleLinda zazoveLiz robbinsLori James-townesMargaret FoleyMaria sotoMarjorie anne McDiarmidMark e griffinMark M. MaloneyMartha BergmarkMary F. BernetMary Jo JohnsonMary M. BroderickMason W. stephensonMatthew BrownfieldMaureen t. syracuseMelinda CunninghamMelissa sherryMichael gonringMichael J. egan iiiMichael MearsMichael tobinMichelle MurphyNeil LevyNicholas Chiarkas

Nicholas MirandaNorman rosenbergPaul r. eckertPenney FarrellPeter isakoffPeter KolovosPhillip e. holladay, Jr.Portia robertsonralph h. smith, Jr. randolf Williams, Jr.rene reixachrichard B. teitelmanrick Pinsrobert D. Bartelsrobert e. steinrobert F. Fortierrobert g. Woodwardroberto gonzalezrosita stanleysena Fitzmaurice sharon Dietrichstephen goldmansusan Basilesusan Brown Wardellsusan estrichsusan rehakted VoorheesTheresa harrisThomas F. smegal, Jr. Thomas gottschalkThomas hitchcock, iiiThomas smegarThomas susmantimothy J. MayopoulosVibha BhatiaVictor FortunoWalter h. LobWilfried WitthuhnWilliam Coleman, Jr.William F. LeeWilliam FryerWilliam J. PerlsteinWilliam r. McLucasWilliam scott PettyWilliam W. taylorWycliffe orr, sr.



aBa Center for Pro Bonoacadia Legal service Corporationakin gump strauss hauer & Feld LLPalston & Birdarmstrong teasdalearnold & Porter, LLPastrazeneca Pharmaceuticals LPBank of america CorporationBay area Legal servicesBeers & CutlerBingham McCutchenBondurant, Mixson & elmoreBoston PropertiesBrunswick groupBryan Cave Powell goldstein LLPCalifornia rural Legal assistance, inc.CLasPC-N-aColgate-Palmolive CompanyColorado Legal servicesComcastCommunity Legal services of PhiladelphiaCovington & Burling LLPCozen o’ConnorCrowell & Moring LLPDavid gambrellDavis Polk & Wardwell LLPDavis Wright tremaine LLPDebevoiseDeierdre WeirDickstein shapiro LLPDiscovery CommunicationsDow Chemical Companyemory Lawethnic Bridgeexxon Mobil Corporationezra CompanyFarella Braun & Martel LLPFlorida Legal services, incFragomen, Del rey, Bernsen & Loewy Fried Frank, harris shriver & Jacobsongeneral electric Companygeneral Millsgeorgia state Bargephardt government affairsgoldman, sachs & Co.goodwin Proctergreenberg traurighewlett Packard Companyhogan Lovells Us LLPholland & Knight LLPhughes hubbard & reed LLPhunton & Williamshusch Blackwell LLPinland Counties Legal servicesJenner & Block LLPJohn Marshall Law school

John s. DigiacintoJustice WorksKatten, Muchin & rosenmanKids in Need of DefenseKing & spaldingKirkland & ellisKutak rockLanguage Line servicesLaw offices of California rural Legal assitanceLawyers’ Committee For Civil rightsLegal aid and Defender association, inc. (Detroit)Legal aid society of ColumbusLegal aid society of Northeastern NYLegal aid society of orange CountyLegal services CorporationLegal services of New York CityLevine sullivan Koch & schulzLiz robbins associatesLsC resource information Management information exchangeMehri & skalet, PLLCMerckMicrosoftMitchell silberberg & KnuppMitigation southMutual of americaNational immigration Project of the National Lawyers guildNational institute for trial advocacyNBC UniversalNeighborhood Legal services Program of the Dis-trict of ColumbiaNLaDa insurance ProgramNLaDa service Corporation Paul hastingsPerkins CoiePfizerPotomac Companies, inc.Proskauer rose LLPPublic interest Clearinghouse/Pacific region Proj-ect DirectorsQuarles & Bradyrogers & hardinshell oil Companysimpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPsocial security administrationsonysteptoe & Johnsontarget Mediatexas Legal servicesThe Coca-Cola CompanyThe Council on Legal educationThe resource for great ProgramsThe sidley austin FoundationThe Walt Disney Companytime Warner Cabletrak services

PartNershiPs

troutman sanders LLPVenable LLPVirginia state Bar access to Legal services CommitteeWeil, gotshal & Manges LLPWilliams & ConnollyWilliams, Kastner & gibbs PLLCWilmer Cutler Pickering hale & Dorr LLPWinston & strawnWorld organization for human rightsYoDLe, iNC.zuckerman spaeder

NLADA is grateful for the support of all of its partners who help bring justice to all.



FiNaNCiaL stateMeNts

STATEMENT Of ACTIvITIES

December 31, 2010

Operating Revenue And Support 2010 TOTALMembership dues $ 1,786,005insurance commissions 1,462,990training and Conference 679,197annual dinner 621,976royalties 202,597 Publications and other revenue 132,124Contracts 18,802 grants 1,063,175 investment income 3,838 Contributions 64,084Profit sharing —

Net assets related from restrictions:satisfaction of program restrictions —

totaL oPeratiNg reVeNUe aND sUPPort 6,034,788

Operating ExpensesProgram Services:

special projects 902,033 NLaDa service Corporation 994,350 training and conference division 630,908 Defender division 503,333 Civil division 617,989 Communications 205,194government relations 163,991 annual conference 191,501 total Program services 4,209,299

Supporting Services:Development and membership 1,006,690Management, administration and finance 388,484 total supporting services 1,395,174

totaL oPeratiNg exPeNses 5,604,473

Change in Net assets From operations Before income tax Provision 430,315income tax (expense) Benefit (47,572)

Change in Net assets 382,743

Net assets, BegiNNiNg oF Year 1,295,121

Net assets, eND oF Year $1,677,864

NATiONAL LEgAL Aid & dEfENdER ASSOciATiON



CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT Of fINANCIAL POSITION

December 31, 2010

Assets 2010current Assets

Cash and cash equivalents $ 1,745,715 investments 914 grants receivable 924,501 accounts receivable 268,246 Prepaid expenses 51,321 Deferred tax asset 22,593

total Current assets 3,013,290

Net property and equipment 195,480 Deposit 24,875

totaL assets $ 3,233,645

Liabilities And Net Assestscurrent Liabilities

accounts payable 335,338 accrued vacation 101,403 Deferred membership dues 858,859 Capital lease obligations 19,378 Deferred rent and construction allowance 70,825 other liabilities 73,569 total Current Liabilities 1,459,372

Deferred rent and construction allowance, net of current portion 95,361 Capital lease obligation, net of current portion 1,048

TOTAL LiABiLiTiES 1,555,781

Net AssestsUnrestricted

Undesignated 657,333 Designated 80,364 total Unrestricted 737,697

temporarily restricted 940,167

totaL Net assets 1,677,864

totaL LiaBiLities aND Net assets $3,233,645

NATiONAL LEgAL Aid & dEfENdER ASSOciATiON



NATIONAL LEGAL AID & DEfENDER ASSOCIATION BOARD Of DIRECTORS

As of February 2011

Bruce N. Kuhlik – chairperson Executive Vice President & General CounselMerck & Co., inc.

Timothy J. Mayopoulos – chair Emeritusexecutive Vice President, General Counsel & Chief Administrative Officer Fannie Mae

Jack Balagia, Jr Vice President & General Counselexxon Mobil Corporation

david M. Bernick Vice President & General CounselPhilip Morris international

Russell c. deyoVice President, General Counsel & Chief Compliance OfficerJohnson & Johnson

Jeff PottVice President, General Counsel & Secretaryastrazeneca Pharmaceuticals LP

Andrew d. HendrySenior Vice President, General Counsel & SecretaryColgate-Palmolive Company

Michael HolstonExecutive Vice President, General Counsel & Secretaryhewlett-Packard Company

James R. Jenkins Senior Vice President and General CounselDeere & Company

charles J. KalilExecutive Vice President, Law and Government Affairs, General Counsel & Corporate SecretaryThe Dow Chemical Company

geoffrey J. KellyGeneral Counsel & Senior Vice PresidentThe Coca-Cola Company

William LowerySenior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretaryshell oil Company

deborah MajorasChief Legal Officer & SecretaryProcter & gamble

Edward O’KeefeGeneral Counsel Bank of america Corporation

Roderick A. PalmoreExecutive Vice President, General Counsel & Chief Compliance and Risk Management Officergeneral Mills, inc.

Thomas L. SagerSenior Vice President & General CounselDuPont Company

CORPORATE ADvISORY COMMITTEE

STAff LISTAs of November 2011

Bettie BiehnCamille holmes WoodCarol PonceChandra NicholsonCharles greenfieldDavid CarrollCatherine ClarkeDeborah DuboisDon saundersed Burnettehillary evansJo-ann WallaceJon MosherJulie ClarkKara allinson Karl DossKristopher KaneKevin MillsLynnae JohnsonLydia WattsMarcia JonesMelva Jonesodessa gibsonotisa DozierPhyllis Mann todd ChristensenYvette hatcher

Anthony Benedetti — Committee for Public Counsel services, Boston, Ma

Laurence Benner — California Western school of Law san Diego, Ca

cindy Borroto — hialeah, FL

catherine c. carr — Community Legal services inc Philadelphia, Pa

Myrnairis cepeda — roxbury, Ma

Julie clark, Secretary — National Legal aid & Defender association, Washington, DC

Eddie Ellis, Jr. — Washington, DC

Barbara finkelstein — Legal services of the hudson Valley, White Plains, NY

Alex gulotta, Treasurer — Legal aid Justice Center Charlottesville, Va

glenda Hicks, Assistant Treasurer — Marietta, ga

darryl Hunt — The Darryl hunt Foundation for Free-dom and Justice, Winston-salem, NC

Regina Kelly — houston, tx

Lori James-Townes — L.Y. James and associates, inc. Baltimore, MD

Lillian O. Johnson, Vice-Chairperson — Community Legal services, inc., Phoenix, az

clinton Lyons — NLaDa insurance Program Washington, DC

Thomas Mlakar — Legal aid society of ClevelandCleveland, oh

José Padilla — California rural Legal assistance, inc., san Francisco, Ca

Yvonne Smith Segars — New Jersey office of the Public Defender, trenton, NJ

Jennifer Sommer — Bloomington, iN

Rosita Stanley, Vice-Chairperson — Macon, ga

Kelli Thompson — Wisconsin state Public DefenderMadison, Wi

Jo-Ann Wallace, President & CEO — National Legal aid & Defender association, Washington, DC

deierdre Weir — Legal aid and Defender association, inc, Detroit, Mi

gary Windom, Chairperson — riverside County Law offices of the Public Defender, riverside, Ca

Founded in 1992, the NLaDa Corporate advisory Committee, (CaC) is a group of general counsel from corporations who have made a leader-ship commitment to encourage national support for NLaDa’s mission of ensuring the availability of quality legal representation to persons who are unable to afford counsel.

As of November 2010

1140 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 900 Washington, DC 20036

www.nlada.org202.452.0620

202.872.1031 (fax)

annual report 2010 - national legal aid & defender association

Documents